Haribo (rhymes with Caribou) is a German confectionery company that is the largest gummi and jelly candy manufacturer in the world. How’s that for an impressive opening statement? They are most well known for their Gummi Bears, which they invented, along with many other classic favorites. Like many candies I feature here, I’ve only gotten familiar with them in recent years and am working my way though all their delicious confections.

Haribo Brixx caught my eye immediately because of the beautiful red package, along with how unique the candy itself is. The Brixx look like little thick rectangles, similar to licorice chunks in a way. They have a “cut” side exposed with six holes filled with a white cream and the whole thing is dusted with some sort of sugar. I’ve read different descriptions online saying it’s either sour or fizzy, and I didn’t know which to believe or expect. To keep things interesting, the Brixx also come in three colors: yellow, red and green.

After my first few pieces, I’m immediately struck by how odd the texture of these are. I expected it to be gummi like, but instead it’s more chewy like licorice. It feels grainy, thick and substantial with a good chew.

Green: The flavor is very sour from the sugar coating (ah ha!) and the flavor is akin to green apple: very bright, floral and juicy. The cream here doesn’t really add anything.

Red: It’s hard to lay my finger on this flavor, but my best guess is strawberry. It’s sweet with fruity notes that learn on the berry side. It’s the least tart of the bunch, but the sour kick does work with it, even though it’s an odd paring with strawberry.

Yellow: This was a surprise. It tastes like pear and this one isn’t as tart as the green apple. The pear flavoring is pleasant and works well with the sour coating. I find it quite unique. On a side note: during my tastings, I got one yellow one that tasted really…off. It’s flavor was of burnt plastic. I’m hoping that’s a fluke.

I loved the texture of these. I didn’t find that I tasted the “cream” inside, but maybe that’s where that subtle sweetness resides. The sour is so strong it’s hard to tell where it’s coming from. The sour coating as odd though, and after a few pieces my mouth began to hurt from the sourness of it. It’s a shame, cause they’re so much fun to chew and the flavors are good, I just don’t want to burn my mouth raw with these, cause pain and candy don’t mix in my mind.

Happy I tried them, but I won’t be getting them again. There’s bigger and better Haribo candy to try!

This is a Polish chocolate bar I stumbled across in a random grocery store. I never have had Polish confections before, therefore I was immediately drawn to it. The only English on it says “chocolate filled bar” with a bright red wrapper with strawberries on it. I’m relieved for the illustrations otherwise I wouldn’t have known what I was buying exactly.

The bar is broken into six filled sections. The chocolate is a nice medium brown, a little washed out looking from the dairy in it. Because of this coloring, I’m guessing it’s a milk chocolate. The bar doesn’t smell chocolatey at all but of strawberries with a sharp, dairy tang. Snapping off a section a grainy looking beige-pink center is revealed. The strawberry smell is even more intense now and I can pin point what the aroma reminds me of: Japanese strawberry yogurt drinks (duh).

The flavor is very sweet, which I find strange considering the strong tangy notes in the aroma. The flavor is neither chocolate or strawberry, although there are subtle nuances of each in there. It really just tastes sweet which I find disappointing. The texture is fun though since the center isn’t oily like I’d expect, and instead is moist and grainy like marzipan. It gives a very rich, substantial feel in the mouth that I enjoy immensely. Too bad the flavor isn’t up to par though, since I’m so smitten with the texture.

A good first step into Polish candy I think, I look forward to trying more of it.

I first became familiar with Sour Punch Straws during my freshman year of college. My roommate was intent on searching them down and hoarding them for special care packages she’d send to her friends at home. It was during this time that I tasted them for the first time and now whenever I have them, I am overcome with an extreme sense of nostalgia.

The packaging is very approachable with bright colors and puckering smiley faces on them. It feels very comical to me, as the expressions are of pleasure yet there’s electric bolts shooting from their mouths. It makes me very optimistic about the sourness of the straws, to say the least.

Sour Punch Straws come in many flavors, but I figured the tastiest one to start with would be the Strikin’ Strawberry flavor. They come nicely packed in a tray that pulls out easily from the wrapper. The straws are long, about 6 inches and about 1/4 inch diameter, and are very brightly colored with a sanding of granular sugar. The smell of the straws is tart and fake, and reminds me more of “cherry” then “strawberry”

The sandy sugar coating is the sour part, but I wouldn’t call it “punchy”. Instead, it’s a nice “sassy” sour, noticeable and certainly the starring trait of this candy, but not anything over the top. The chew is dense as I’m reminded of a good red licorice stick. As for the strawberry flavor, it’s not really. It tastes more “red” than anything, with strong artificial flavor and little indication of any specific fruit.

I like how these are flavorful yet don’t burn my mouth out like really intense sour candy tends to. My interest is piqued and I’m eager to check out the other Sour Punch Straw flavor offerings.

As soon as I lamented in the Hershey’s Caramel Apple Kisses review that I couldn’t find the Pumpkin Spice flavor, and lo and behold, I find them by the checkouts during an emergency Target run. Luck was surely smiling upon me then. After squealing with glee and making myself look like an utter idiot to the other shoppers, I nabbed a few packages and rushed home with my sweet, pumpkin flavored candy treasure.

I’m in love with these already and I’m just looking at the package. Beautiful hues of orange in a spider web pattern and a grinning jack ‘o lantern decorate the package. The wrappers are pretty too with deep oranges and brown stripes on them and the little flags are brown with white lettering. Beautifully festive, it just screams fall and Halloween!

It gets better too, if you can believe it! The kiss itself it is orange, which I discovered when I undressed one for the photo shoot. The kisses smell of pumpkin pie with accents of cinnamon. Biting into my photography sample, I found that there’s a creamy beige center to these. I’m curious as to how this impacts the flavor. Such anticipation!

The flavor is very pumpkin-y I’m ecstatic to report. Words cannot express my love for pumpkin. There’s also a good mild spice to compliment it too, as I taste cinnamon, clove and a little ginger. It’s very creamy and sweet. What I find amusing is that I was expecting pumpkin pie sort of flavor, but this is more like pumpkin cheesecake. Delicious!

Sometimes things are too good to be true though, and I do have a few complaints with these. The first is that there isn’t real cocoa butter in these, and instead it’s more of those nasty tropical oils. Why Hershey’s, why? The second is by the time I ate last my last kiss (nine pieces, I was good!) I did have a bit of throat burn from the sweetness. Nothing that can’t be solved from a glass of water though.

Russell Stover is a big name in my household. If there’s any need for a cheaper chocolate bonbon candy treat, Russell Stover is the “to go to”. I remember getting the small assorted boxes every year at Valentines Day from my parents and my sister now always had a box of the assorted creams on hand. I can’t say exactly why we always keep turning to them, if it’s because they’re delicious or affordable or both. I always have a special place in my heart for them though.

I was surprised to see one day a new Russell Stover offering on the shelf at the store that I hadn’t seen before. A rarity, for sure. The Russell Stover Pecan Roll just called to me since it looked so incredibly kitchy. It stuck out right away in it’s bright yellow wrapper, bold red lettering and very detailed photo of the candy itself on on the front. Inspecting it quickly I noted a promise of a “Vermont Fudge Center” written on the front as well, which was certainly enticing even thought I have no idea what that is.

The roll looks very small in package but weights in at a hefty 50g, so it’s a compact little thing. Unwrapped, it’s a very home-made looking: a small log that’s roughly been rolled in large, uneven pecan chunks. The sort of thing you’d expect to see if your mom just took some pecans to town with a ziploc bag and a rolling pin. It smells wonderful fresh of pecans: nutty, buttery, and sweet.

The first bite was lovely as the pecans are fresh with their smooth texture and rich flavor. The “Vermont fudge center” is a maple penuche fudge with a thick, grainy texture and a quick melt in the mouth with an intense brown sugar maple flavor followed with an intense sweetness. This roll is like a slice of pecan pie that’s been condensed into a little log. It’s really lovely in it’s simplicity of concept and execution and “wholesomeness” of flavor.

I hope to run into this one again so that I can introduce it to my family. I don’t know if that’ll be a good or bad thing!